This checklist by Joseph Burrascano, M.D. (reprinted with permission from the author), is not intended for diagnosis but only to show how easily we can be exposed to tick bites and what a broad range of symptoms can be associated with Lyme Disease.

Did you know that:

Only 17% of people with a diagnosis of Lyme Disease ever remember getting a tick bite.

Only 36% of people with a diagnosis of Lyme Disease ever recall having a bull’s eye rashor other warning sign of having been bitten by a tick.

Only proper laboratory testing can help determine if multiple symptoms are due to Lyme Disease.

These factors increase the riskfor tick bites:

Have you had many of the following symptoms?

1. Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, flushing

Visiting tick-infested area

2. Unexplained weight change (loss or gain)

Frequent outdoor activities

3. Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina

Hiking

4. Unexplained hair loss

Fishing

5. Swollen glands

Camping

6. Sore throat

Gardening

7. Testicular pain / pelvic pain

Hunting

8. Unexplained menstrual irregularity

Ticks noted on pets

9. Unexplained milk production or breast pain

10. Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction

Risk of Lyme increases if you:

11. Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido

Remember being bitten by a tick

12. Upset stomach or abdominal pain

Have or have had a bull’s eye rash

13. Change in bowels (constipation or diarrhea)

Have any other suspect rash

14. Chest pain or rib soreness

Have other household members

15. Shortness of breath, cough

who developed Lyme Disease

16. Heart palpitations or pulse skips

17. History of heart murmur or prolapsed valve

18. Joint pain or swelling of joints

19. Stiffness of joints or back

20. Muscle pain or cramps

21. Twitching of the face or other muscles

22. Headache

23. Neck creaks and cracks, neck stiffness or pain

24. Tingling and numbness, burning/stabbing pain

25. Skin hypersensitivity

26. Facial paralysis (Bell’s Palsy)

27. Ears buzzing, ear pain, sound sensitivity

28. Double vision, blurry vision, light sensitivity

28. Motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance

29. Lightheadedness, unavoidable need to sit or lie

30. Tremor

31. Confusion, difficulty thinking

32. Difficulty with concentration and reading

33. Forgetfulness, poor short-term memory

34. Disorientation and getting lost

35. Difficulty with speech or writing

36. Mood swings, irritability, depression

37. Disturbed sleep (too much or too little)

38. Fractionated sleep, early awakening

39. Exaggerated symptoms from drinking alcohol

Related Article

LYME DISEASE: COULD A LITTLE TICK BE CAUSING BIG PROBLEMS?

Your story might go something like this, “I have been to several doctors, had numerous blood tests and X-rays, but they can’t seem to find what’s wrong.” You complain of many symptoms that seem unrelated and involve multiple systems and organs of the body. Perhaps you have some fatigue, neurological, orthopedic, cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, or psychiatric symptoms. Your doctor concludes that with so many “vague” complaints and “normal” testing results, it must be all in your head. He says, ”There is no condition that could explain all of these complaints.”

But wait, beware of the great imitator! Lyme disease is on the rise. This tick-borne disease, although originally identified in outbreaks in Lyme, Connecticut, has now been reported in all 48 states. Borrelia burgdorferi is the spirochete which causes Lyme disease. It gets transmitted by the bite of a variety of ticks, and can be accompanied by numerous other infectious agents. Unfortunately Borrelia is capable of causing terrible problems in humans if not diagnosed and treated. Borrelia can even be transferred through the placenta to the unborn baby. Some authorities think mosquitoes or other vectors may also carry and transmit Borrelia through their bites.

But you say, “I don’t remember a tick bite or the classic ‘bull’s eye’ rash.” Less than 50 percent of patients can recall these events. And if you do suspect a tick bite and ask your doctor for diagnostic testing, he will typically use first an Elisa test and secondarily the Western Blot.

The Elisa test misses 35 percent of culture-proven Lyme disease and tests for none of the co-infections. The Western Blot often misses 20 to 30 percent of culture-proven Lyme disease.

According to Tom Grier, Executive Director of the Minnesota Insect-Borne Education Council, these tests look for antibodies which the human host has formed against the invading Borrelia organism. But he points out four common reasons why, even with such laboratory testing, the organism can be missed:

Borrelia can escape detection by turning into a cyst. Therefore, the immune system cannot see it and does not form antibodies against it.

The antibodies necessary for detection are bound up into immune complexes.

Antibodies may not be present due to the early use of antibiotics or steroids that interfere with the immune system forming antibodies.

Antibody levels drop to very low levels often late into the disease.

So how would you know if Lyme disease is the real cause of your symptoms? Since Lyme is difficult to diagnose, it requires a physician skilled in recognizing the patterns of the disease and using the most accurate tests. The symptoms vary greatly. Some people start with a flu-like pattern of headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pains, numbness, tingling and fever, which may last hours or days, disappear and then reappear. Some victims initially have no symptoms at all–while the Borrelia stays in the body, gradually causing a variety of symptoms.

There are other testing options, which are used by physicians skilled in working with Lyme disease. Three specialty laboratories have designed tests that can increase the likelihood of detection up to

90 percent. Some of the labs utilize a specially designed Western Blot test that looks for multiple sub-species of Borrelia, not just the one species in the standard test. These labs also use more of the “bands” that could reveal the presence of the disease and interpret the results in a different manner, allowing more people to get diagnosed and treated. There are also other laboratories with special tests that may detect the presence of Lyme.

Despite the more accurate testing available, it is critical to realize that no current tests are yet considered completely accurate, and the physician may have to rely on his clinical judgment to help diagnose Lyme. The Center for Disease Control says, “The diagnosis of Lyme disease is based primarily on clinical findings, and it is often appropriate to treat patients solely on the basis of objective signs of a known exposure.”

Typically, treatment for Lyme disease has entailed a regimen of multiple antibiotics for lengthy periods of time, since the Borrelia organism is very difficult to eradicate. However, we at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine have also found the Cowden comprehensive program using powerful, sequentially applied herbal remedies to be highly effective. This program eliminates not only the Borrelia organism but also the equally troublesome co-infections from other organisms. Although both the antibiotic approach and the Cowden herbal regimen are effective, our environmentally sensitive patients are better able to tolerate and benefit from the non-drug program.

If you know that you have been or could have been exposed to the Borrelia spirochete and would like more information about Lyme-associated Disease, contact The Center at (843) 572-1600.

Horowitz, RI, Rodner D. Bartonella henselae: limitations of serological testing: evaluation of Elisa and PCR testing in a cohort of Lyme disease patients and implications for treatment (Abstract). 16th International Scientific Conference on Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Disorders, May 2003, USA.

Horowitz, RI. Chronic Lyme disease: a symptom complex of multiple co-infections: new diagnostic and treatment protocols (Abstract). 12th International Scientific Conference on Lyme Disease and Other Spirochetal Disorders, April 1999, New York City.

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